Finding My Way Back to the Woods First blog post by Janae Lynn

I was raised out in the country, surrounded by trees — barefoot more often than not. I had siblings and friends, but honestly, my favorite company was my dog and the woods. We’d wander off the beaten path, exploring nature, sitting quietly under trees, or just watching the clouds drift by.

Somewhere along the way — maybe by accident, maybe by instinct — I noticed how calm I felt with bare feet on the ground. There was something about sinking into the moss, feeling the dirt between my toes, and just being in nature that made me feel like myself. Like I belonged.

When I turned 18, I moved away from my hometown and into the city. Suddenly, I wasn’t outside much. I wore shoes. I walked on concrete instead of dirt. And I didn’t even realize how much I missed nature… not right away. But something inside me started to ache, and it took me a while to understand why.

It wasn’t until I began carving out little moments again — walking my dogs by the river, watching a bird, going fishing, taking my shoes off in the grass — that it hit me: I had grown up rooted out yonder, and I needed that part of me back.

Fast forward many years, and I’ve come full circle. I moved back to the very same property I grew up on. I bought it from my parents, and now I’m raising my own child here. There’s something magical about watching him explore the same woods I once did — noticing the same wildflowers, casting a line in the same creek where I fished with my dad. I see his connection to nature forming, and it reminds me why I wanted to write in the first place.

I’ve always loved writing. I carried it quietly, like a seed in my pocket — the dream that someday I’d be an author. During the first COVID shutdown, when the world felt upside-down and the news was too much, I finally gave myself permission to start. I sat outside with a notebook, let the wind clear my head, and wrote the first version of Rooted Out Yonder.

That poem grew into a book. That book grew into a whole series. And now it’s become my way of sharing the wonder of the natural world — the barefoot walks, the quiet woods, the stars overhead — with any kid (or grown-up) who might need a little grounding, a little wild wonder.

I truly believe we’re all connected — people, trees, animals, even the stars. I’m looking up at the same moon a wolf might be howling at, and something about that has always brought me peace.

This blog is a place where I’ll share thoughts from the woods, stories from my life, sneak peeks into my writing, and gentle reminders that nature is always waiting — whispering, grounding, rooting us back to ourselves.

Thanks for being here. Let’s go barefoot and wander awhile.

— Janae Lynn ⭐️